Jack Black and Tony Hawk are among the defendants in a new copyright infringement, unjust enrichment, and unfair competition lawsuit initiated by a California man named Wesley Humpston. The Complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California is based on Humpston, who has apparently earned the reputation as “The Godfather of Skateboard Art” having his original art ripped off and he wants relief for it.
At issue is a copyright obtained by Humpston that goes under the name of the “BigFoot Graphic,” which he registered in 2007 and claims to have created in 1979. He attached an image related to the registration to his Complaint.
Humpston avers that, in promoting the video game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 on various social media websites, the defendants prominently featured a skateboard that uses a design containing a clear imitation of Humpston’s BigFoot Graphic and labeled it “BigFoot II.” He says he never provided consent for such use, which also served to promote the sale of Jack Black signed editions of the BigFoot II skateboards.
Humpston is seeking an order to enjoin the defendants from infringing on the copyrights and extensive damages for their use of what they describe to be a work sufficiently similar to the BigFoot Graphic.